On Birthdays.

It's my birthday today.

It's got me thinking about birthdays. I'm never really quite sure how you're supposed to act about them. Indifference? Nonchalance? Excitement? No idea. Mostly I try just maintain an air of forgetfulness and be done with it.

Of course, it really has got me thinking about birthdays. About how, perhaps, it's not the worst thing in the world to have just one day a year where it's OK to be happy about just being yourself, and to be the centre of attention for no reason in particular. We spend quite a lot of time celebrating certain individuals - celebrities and the like - so I think it's quite a good idea to have some time set aside to celebrate the rest of us individuals. Individually, as it were. It shouldn't feel presumptuous to have just one day per year to be excited about being yourself, and to be gracious in having others celebrate you.

I recently celebrated my daughter's zeroth birthday, and I can tell you that it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life.

So, that's it. On your birthday I'd like you to tell me that it's your birthday, and I will be genuinely excited and happy for you. More and more I think we all need a little recognition just for being ourselves. I think, perhaps, it's not as easy as it looks.